Arsenal are ready to bring in as many as five new first-team players as Mikel Arteta looks to close the gap on Manchester City.
The Gunners were humbled 3-0 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium to effectively end their chances of winning a first title for 19 years at the weekend. Arteta's team now sit four points behind City, with the Premier League leaders holding a game in hand.
Manchester City can in fact clinch a third straight title without playing another fixture – but rather than feeling satisfied with how far they've come this term, Arteta is reportedly looking to strengthen heavily this summer in his bid to narrow the deficit between the two sides.
The Mirror reports that the Basque boss is set for "one of his busiest transfer windows since taking charge", with a handful of big signings arriving to improve the existing squad.
The Gunners were limited to just three big signings 12 months ago, with Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira joining the club – but were in for another winger, according to reports at the time. Arsenal could well boost potential budgets this summer though by offloading higher value stars than last season, with Kieran Tierney, Folarin Balogun and Charlie Patino just three touted for exits.
Those three alone could fetch £70 million – which would fund a large proportion of a move for Brighton star Moises Caicedo. Incredibly, The Mail suggests that it wouldn't be impossible for Arteta to bring all three of Caicedo, Declan Rice and Mason Mount to the Emirates Stadium.
The Mail also says that Rice could also cost the Gunners £100m, breaking their transfer record.
The Gunners are also thought to be in the market for a centre-back – Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi has been touted, with the Evening Standard quoting a price of £50m – another full-back or two and another forward or two. The Evening Standard have also mentioned a "physical striker" being on the wishlist.
Arsenal have two more Premier League games to play.
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Arsenal are already being linked with a host of big names ahead of a season back in the Champions League.
Mason Mount is an option in midfield, with Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic and Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby rumoured in the attack. Both Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and Crystal Palace star Wilf Zaha are on the radar, too. Younger stars are interesting the Gunners, too: Vitor Roque might end up at the Emirates, while Flamengo's Matheus Franca is being watched.
Meanwhile, cult hero Mathieu Flamini has refused to rule out a move to buy Arsenal.
